Jargon Juxtaposition
Confused by today's techno-babble? We're here to put things straight,
and below are some commonly used acronyms and computer terms. Each item of
jargon is juxtaposed with its plain English meaning. If you think you can
add to our jargon buster, why not send us and
e-mail, and don't forget to check
out our new advertising
campaign targeted at bringing plain English to the computer world.
- ADSL
- Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line. A type of Broadband Internet
connection. By comparison to 56k Modem and
ISDN speeds, ADSL is very fast, and
web pages usually display in a flash! Music and video also download at very
fast speeds. An ADSL enabled telephone line allows both voice and data to be
transferred at the same time, so you can be talking to a friend whilst
downloading your e-mail.
- BIOS
- Basic Input/Output System. Usually pronounced "by-oss", this is the very
first thing your computer uses when you power it on, even before Windows. It
detects things like your Hard Disk and CD-ROM and helps Windows to start.
- Bluetooth
- A short range (around 10 metres) wireless technology
for connection devices such as mobile phones to computers. Like any
network, it allows the transmission of information in any format. It was
developed by Ericsson in 1994 and so called after Danish King Harald Blåtand,
which translates to Bluetooth in English.
- Broadband
- A term often used in reference to the Internet. Different types of
Broadband allow for much faster download speeds from the Internet. So called
because of its scale; a Modem connection might therefore be referred to as
Narrow-band. Some common types of Broadband are ADSL or cable.
- Cat5
- Category 5. A standard in cabling. It is the most common type of cabling
used in offices and can carry both computer data and telephony communications.
Requires a box of tricks to organise such communication, such as a "switch".
Other grades exist such as Cat5e, Cat6, Cat6e etc.
- CD
- Compact Disc. Can store audio and/or data. A normal CD
can hold 74 minutes of audio or 650Mb of data. Some devices allow
storage past these limits (often referred to as "over-burning"). Some
special CD's can hold 80 minutes of audio or 700Mb of data - see also
Disc.
- CD-ROM
- Compact Disc Read-Only Memory. This type of CD cannot be
overwritten, hence read-only. You'll notice CD-ROM Drives displaying
speeds like "52x" - this means that the fastest the CD-ROM Drive will spin a
CD-ROM is 52 times faster that of the first commercially available CD player -
see also CD.
- CD-R
- Compact Disc Recordable. This type of CD can be written to
only once - see also CD.
- CD-RW
- Compact Disc ReWritable. This type of CD can be written to
many times - see also CD.
- Disk / Disc
- Hard Disk, Floppy Disk, Compact Disc, etc - all types of long-term storage
for information and applications. A Hard Disk Drive is fixed inside the
computer's box and is the main type of storage medium. Devices like
Floppy Disk Drives and Compact Disc Drives are fixed mechanisms, but the have
an external slot where the disks can be inserted. Disk refers to
magnetic storage, whereas Disc refers to optical storage.
- DVD
- Digital Versatile Disc. Can store any kind of information,
including storage hungry media types like video and high quality audio.
Can also be used to hold data in the form of computer files and folders much
like a CD. See also Disc.
- FDD
- Floppy Disk Drive. A very popular storage device for portable
media, now quickly being superseded by CD-RW Drives - see
also Disk.
- HDD
- Hard Disk Drive. The main storage device inside your machine.
Usually holds your Operating System, Applications and personal files - see
also Disk.
- HID
- Human Interface Device. Particularly on Windows 2000/XP, this refers to
your Mouse or Keyboard - typically how you "interface" with your computer. Of
course, this includes screen pens, tablets, etc.
- ISDN
- Integrated Services Digital Network. Faster than a 56k Modem, particularly
when two channels are "bonded", ISDN is commonly used as a type of connection
to the Internet. Being digital, it was originally designed to replace analogue
lines. Also provides additional telephony services.
- LAN
- Local Area Network. Typically limited to your office or
building, this network allows only computers connected to it to share files
and stream information. They can be cabled (wired) or wireless.
- MoDem
- Modulator/Demodulator. An old technology used to connect computers to the
Internet on analogue telephone lines. Very slow when compared to today's
Broadband technologies.
- OEM
- Original Equipment Manufacturer. Put simply, OEM goods come direct from
the manufacturer, usually without much fancy packaging, rather than provided
retail-boxed via a third-party reseller. Ultimately it saves money for us and
therefore you our client.
- PDA
- Personal Digital Assistant - A term used to describe computers
small enough to fit in the palm of your hand. Mobile phones are fast
becoming PDAs in the types of things they can do, soon there may be no
distinction.
- RAID
- Redundant Array of Inexpensive Disks. There are many
different configurations for RAID, but the most common is type of backup for
important information that you store on a Hard Disk, usually in a
Server.
Up to 4 hard disks can be run concurrently, effectively keeping a real-time
and precise backup of all your data. If one disk fails (becomes
redundant), the next one in the array becomes available. Depending on
software and/or hardware, it may notify you of any disruptions and seamlessly
change to the next disk.
- SCSI
- Small Computer System Interface. Usually pronounced "scuzzy", this is a
type of connection to your computer to which other products plug in to. There
are lots of different types of SCSI, for example, SCSI-2, Wide SCSI, Ultra
Wide SCSI.
- Server
- A type of computer on a network which is dedicated to serving information
in whatever format. Servers come in all shapes and sizes these days but
have evolved from their distant relative "the mainframe!"
- Switch
- A network device that selects a path or circuit for sending a unit of data
to its next destination. Your Word document may be several million of
these units in size!
- USB
- Universal Serial Bus. The most common type of wired connection used
to connect devices to a PC or any other computer (e.g. Mac). Devices
could include printers, scanners, mice, digital cameras... Alternatively,
Bluetooth is similar way to connect, but is
wireless.
- VPN
- Virtual Private Network. A way to communicate through a
dedicated Server securely to a corporate network over
the internet. It allows you access to files you would normally access
over your conventional network in the office but from anywhere in the world.
Windows NT, 2000 and XP offer native VPN support.
- WEP
- Wired Equivalent Privacy (802.11 encryption protocol). Basic
wireless security provided by Wi-Fi. In some
instances, WEP may be all a home or small-business user needs to protect
wireless data. WEP is available in two different levels of encryption.
However, VPN is recommended for more serious business users
which offers greater security in transmission.
- WiFi
- Wireless Fidelity. An interoperability certification for
wireless local area network (LAN) products based on the Institute of
Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 standard. Operating
on the 2.4GHz radio wave spectrum. For more
information, please visit the
Wi-Fi Alliance.
- Wireless
- A term in the computing industry to describe a method of transferring
information in a manner that would normally be wired, for example, a
LAN may be connected wired or wirelessly. Your mobile
phone could connect to your computer wirelessly (via Bluetooth or infra-red).
